Blogging Ethics (cont.)
...continued...
Say someone whose name I didn't catch: The largest issue of bias is at the top, not at the bottom. People know who owns us and what their opinions are. We know who's on the left and right. So why are we worried about what one of our reporters is saying on his drinking blog?
Moor is steering away this discussion, but I think that it's an important one to have...
Ed Wasserman (Miami Herald and journalism prof): it's important to keep in mind that not all bloggers are necessarily naughty. There are opportunities now for eloquent journalism, with maximum scope, on a number of platforms. We ought not to restrict it.
Richard Greene (Politico): Any employer that bars reporters from blogging on their own time, then they absolutely should allow it on professional time, on the professional site. The problem isn't the blog, it's the coverup.
Tomorrow's legal session will address this... One question is liability.
Says a lawyer among us: It's a question of mental state...did the reporter doubt the truth of what he was publishing, believe it? If blogging, everything that a reporter says can be used in a liabel suit even if the reporter was on a personal blog. So publishers actually really need to be careful about bloging - it's not just about censorship or about restricting rights of employees. It creates a heightened risk.
Says someone from Bloomberg (I think - can't hear): We're all professional. We should never want to be accused of being not fair or not credible if we're professional journalists. Why would we "spout uninformed opinion?" Jurnos shouldn't blog. Employers shouldn't necessarily allow blogging... It's not "freedom of speech." If you want total freedom, then don't work for a large news organization.
Says me: Oddly, no one seems miffed by this statement. I think she's missing the point here, and taking things to extreme levels. (Am now wondering why I haven't heard Jeff Jarvis comment on this point...thought he was in the audience, doesn't seem to be here?)
Looks like this will be an ongoing discussion...we didn't quite accomplish a manefisto here. But the wiki will be open, and here's to hoping that it gets used to help further thought on the why and how and when...
